Train2Game News Instant Indie Collection Volume Two

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The Instant Indie Collection Vol Two is designed to offer Xbox One and PlayStation owners the opportunity to build a collection of the The Instant Indie Collection Vol Two is designed to offer Xbox One and PlayStation owners the opportunity to build a collection of the very best indie games, for a fraction of the total retail price.

Instant Indie Collection Volume Two contains The Swindle, Pumped BMX + and Nova-111 and is available from today on the US PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita (cross buy) stores, tomorrow in Europe and Friday (23rd October) on Xbox One worldwide, priced £19.99/$24.99/ €24.99.

The Swindle hails from developer Dan Marshall. A mixture of platform, action and stealth gameplay, The Swindle gives player access to the ultimate thieves’ guild and tasks them with breaking into procedurally-generated buildings, hacking their systems, stealing their cash and then charging to the nearest exit to the sound of alarms and breaking glass.

Pumped BMX + is the latest game in the series which has captivated both the BMX and gaming communities alike from one man studio YEAHUS. Pumped BMX + takes everything that made the original game so well loved and brings it up to date for the console generation. With 50 tricky courses, a comprehensive collection of authentic ticks and 500 intense in-game BMX challenges, this truly is the ultimate Pumped experience.

Nova-111 is the brain child of ex Q-Games developers Eddie Lee and Kalin, whose previous work included the PixelJunk series. Nova-111 is a sci-fi themed adventure that lets you utilise both real-time decisions and turn-based strategy to fight enemies and solve puzzles. Pilot rescue vessel Nova through mysterious and alien planets, navigate mind warping puzzles and engaging in strategic battles with bizarre astrobiological creatures.

“Instant Indie is designed to allow console owners the opportunity to discover indie gems that they may have missed upon original release in one no hassle, discounted bundle.” says managing director of Curve Digital, Jason Perkins. “Volume Two showcases some of our year’s biggest hits from a variety of different genres. There is something for everyone in this bundle” very best indie games, for a fraction of the total retail price.

Instant Indie Collection Volume Two contains The Swindle, Pumped BMX + and Nova-111 and is available from today on the US PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita (cross buy) stores, tomorrow in Europe and Friday (23rd October) on Xbox One worldwide, priced £19.99/$24.99/ €24.99.

The Swindle hails from developer Dan Marshall. A mixture of platform, action and stealth gameplay, The Swindle gives player access to the ultimate thieves’ guild and tasks them with breaking into procedurally-generated buildings, hacking their systems, stealing their cash and then charging to the nearest exit to the sound of alarms and breaking glass.

Pumped BMX + is the latest game in the series which has captivated both the BMX and gaming communities alike from one man studio YEAHUS. Pumped BMX + takes everything that made the original game so well loved and brings it up to date for the console generation. With 50 tricky courses, a comprehensive collection of authentic ticks and 500 intense in-game BMX challenges, this truly is the ultimate Pumped experience.

Nova-111 is the brain child of ex Q-Games developers Eddie Lee and Kalin, whose previous work included the PixelJunk series. Nova-111 is a sci-fi themed adventure that lets you utilise both real-time decisions and turn-based strategy to fight enemies and solve puzzles. Pilot rescue vessel Nova through mysterious and alien planets, navigate mind warping puzzles and engaging in strategic battles with bizarre astrobiological creatures.

“Instant Indie is designed to allow console owners the opportunity to discover indie gems that they may have missed upon original release in one no hassle, discounted bundle.” says managing director of Curve Digital, Jason Perkins. “Volume Two showcases some of our year’s biggest hits from a variety of different genres. There is something for everyone in this bundle”

Train2Game News Open Gaming Alliance welcomes Ubisoft

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The Open Gaming Alliance (OGA), a non-profit trade association focused on the games industry business, today announced Ubisoft® as its newest Corporate Member.

Ubisoft joins a growing roster of other forward-thinking industry leaders including  Intel,  Dell/Alienware,  Logitech,  Razer,  Unity, Webroot and the recently announced  Lenovo in supporting the OGA’s efforts to provide leadership and opportunities; and encourage growth and diversity within the games business ecosystem.

At this year’s E3, the  Open Gaming Alliance announced several  new initiatives including new  membership levels; new AR/VR, Software and Cloud Gaming special interest groups; and a significant expansion of its indie developer support. Additionally, the OGA issued its annual  Pinnacle research report analyzing industry revenues and trends

“PC Gamers are important to Ubisoft, and we’re committed to better understanding and addressing their needs and to continually improving our relationship with them,” said Sandrine Caloiaro, Consumer and Marketing Knowledge Director, Ubisoft. “By joining the OGA, we’re able to glean gamer insights from their research, learn from best practices in our industry and contribute to the group’s upcoming initiatives.”   

The Open Gaming Alliance provides an array of resources to its industry members, ranging from research and best-practice guidance; to marketing support and networking with some of the industry’s premier middleware and hardware providers, and publishers. Founded in 2008, the organization has evolved to cover multiple platforms and operating systems; maintaining its primary goals of strengthening and promoting the community around all game platforms while providing a unified voice.

“Whether Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, Rainbow 6 Siege or one of the many other big games in its portfolio, Ubisoft brings quality entertainment experiences to gamers. It’s a thought-leader that spans every genre, platform and emerging technology within the industry,” said Wanda Meloni, OGA executive director. “Joining the OGA demonstrates Ubisoft’s determination to reaching even more players and to partnering with our other members to better our industry.”

Train2Game News UK Top 20 Games – 19.10.15

FIFA-16A few new games have been added to the charts this week the highest new game is at number eight with the latest instalment of the Tales series, Tales of Zestiria. Lower down the chart at number twelve is WRC 5 and the latest Dragon Quest, Dragon Quest Heroes has debuted at number eighteen, FIFA 16 remains in the number one spot.

All formats
Week ending 17 October 2015

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 FIFA 16 EA SPORTS 1
2 UNCHARTED: THE NATHAN DRAKE COLLECTION SONY COMPUTER ENT. 2
3 DESTINY: THE TAKEN KING ACTIVISION 3
4 LEGO DIMENSIONS LEGO DIMENSIONS 4
5 GRAND THEFT AUTO V ROCKSTAR 6
6 FORZA MOTORSPORT 6 MICROSOFT 5
7 METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN KONAMI 8
8 TALES OF ZESTIRIA BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT
9 LEGO JURASSIC WORLD WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 12
10 MINECRAFT: XBOX EDITION MICROSOFT 13
11 MINECRAFT: PLAYSTATION EDITION SONY COMPUTER ENT. 15
12 WRC 5 BIG BEN
13 SKYLANDERS SUPERCHARGERS SKYLANDERS 14
14 ANIMAL CROSSING: HAPPY HOME DESIGNER NINTENDO 7
15 MAD MAX WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 11
16 NBA 2K16 2K SPORTS 9
17 RUGBY WORLD CUP 2015 BIG BEN 16
18 DRAGON QUEST HEROES SQUARE ENIX
19 SUPER MARIO MAKER NINTENDO 18
20 DISNEY INFINITY 3.0 DISNEY INFINITY 17
< previous week

Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2015 UKIE Ltd

These charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.

Train2Game News EGX Rezzed 2016 Tickets

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EGX, producer of the UK’s premiere video games events, today announced that tickets for EGX Rezzed 2016 – in partnership once again with BAFTA– are now on sale.
  
Running from 7-9th April 2016, EGX Rezzed will build on the enormous success of this year’s event where over 12,000 gamers arrived to play more than 150 PC, console, virtual reality and board games from the likes of PlayStation, Xbox and Blizzard. Further developing the highly popular informal format, EGX Rezzed 2016 will feature more playable AAA and indie games, more Developer and Rezzed Sessions, more after show activities, more devs on the show floor and more free gaming stuff. Over 15,000 visitors are expected to attend.
  
All the headline features will be present, including the highly successful GamesIndustry.biz Career Fair. In 2015 49 Ukie Video Games Ambassadors and BAFTA Crew Games members, plus 8 games industry execs and many exhibitors advised the next generation of games industry professionals – including many school, college and university students – on how to land a career in games.
  
Visitors to EGX Rezzed 2015 were delighted with the show’s new home at the superb Tobacco Dock, London, reporting the highest ever satisfaction levels of any EGX event. Not only will the venue play host to EGX Rezzed 2016, BAFTA’s headline British Academy Games Awards will bring a touch of red carpet glitz and glamour to the event on Thursday 7th April.

“We can’t wait to return to London’s Tobacco Dock with an upgraded EGX Rezzed 2016”, said Matt Styles, Event Director. “Visitors and exhibitors loved the new and fascinating venue, especially the wonderful sense of gaming community it created. We’ll be building on the success of 2015’s Developer Sessions, which were a revelation. Valve dev Chet Faliszek’s Future of Virtual Reality and PlayTonic’s Yooka-Laylee announcement attracted record-breaking crowds both at the show and online. Developers and publishers are increasingly finding EGX Rezzed the ideal platform for their exclusive announcements”.
  
Starting from just £10, tickets are available to buy now from the new EGX Rezzed website (www.egx.net/rezzed/tickets). A variety of day and full event passes are available:

●        Thursday day ticket – £10 (lower price as the Developer Sessions begin Friday 8th April)
●        Friday and Saturday day ticket – £13.50
●        Early entry day ticket – £20
●        Three day Super Pass – £30

For the latest information, exclusive content and free giveaways please follow, like and subscribe to our channels:
  
EGX Rezzed event newsletter: www.egx.net/rezzed

Train2Game News ZX Spectrum Android app

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Recreated ZX Spectrum – App Now Available for Android Phones & Tablets. Roadmap Announced.

To coincide with today’s release of the Android app Elite, the 1980s publisher behind the recreated device, has released information about how it’s expected to be used along with a roadmap outlining how the Recreated ZX Spectrum will be enhanced through further apps and firmware updates.

A survey of more than 275 users revealed that only 44% expected using the recreated device solely or primarily for playing ZX Spectrum games, whilst 49% placed equal or greater importance on its use as a keyboard for use with phones, tablets, Macs, PCs and connected TVs.

Further apps are currently in development for the recreated device, one for the soon to be released 4th generation Apple TV, the other for Android TV. Both of the forthcoming apps will include Chuckie Egg, Sinclair BASIC and a huge game bundle. When available, the apps will enable games and applications to be played on connected TVs using the Recreated ZX Spectrum – without the need for an intermediate device such as a phone or a tablet.

Through firmware updates additional keyboard functionality will be added in response user feedback. Several additional features have already been identified, including a simpler method of accessing CRTL functions. Updating the recreated device’s firmware couldn’t be simpler:

– connect the recreated device’s 5V DC port to a Mac / PC
– go to the published web address
– follow the on-screen instructions. It’ll only take moments.

About the Recreated ZX Spectrum http://sinclair.recreatedzxspectrum.com/ataglance1.php

Train2Game News Metal Hammer Roadkill

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TeamRock, the world’s number one rock and metal games company, today released Metal Hammer: Roadkill, the world’s most metal game.

Featuring a soundtrack of artists from Nuclear Blast, the world’s largest independent metal label, Metal Hammer: Roadkill brings metal to the masses in a brand new rhythm/action game, where the goal is simple – defeat the hordes of hell, save the world, let them eat metal.

The game features tracks from bands including Sabaton, Epica, Suicide Silence, Exodus, Threshold, Vader and more… Metal Hammer: Roadkill gives metal fans a whole new way to play the music they love.

The game is free to download and play – plus thanks to an agreement with Nuclear Blast, will bring players more bands, more levels, more cities and more metal to the world of gaming on a regular basis.

Forged by award-winning UK studio Guerilla Tea and and approved of by the Gods of Metal themselves, Metal Hammer: Roadkill is the first release from TeamRock Games. Offering simple, accessible gameplay, combined with some of the hardest metal acts in the world, Roadkill will hit the mobile charts like a very large metal hammer.

“The goal is simple,” says Billy Anderson, founder and CEO of Team Rock, “We want to be the global home of rock and metal. We already know the crossover between gaming, rock and metal is huge. We want to give every player, every listener, every fan the chance to experience the music they love in new ways. We have major plans for gaming and Roadkill shows exactly what we hope to achieve. We’ll be working with bands, labels and music to bring them into gaming and build something new and credible and innovative.”

Metal Hammer: Roadkill is OUT NOW for iOS and Android. The game is free to download and play.

Train2Game News Star Wars Battlefront Beta

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“Impressive. Most Impressive.” The Star Wars™ Battlefront™ beta surpassed a major milestone: more than nine million players logged in and played.

That makes this the single largest beta in the history of EA and they could not be happier that so many of you wanted to come in to get a small taste of what their passionate team has been working on.

Ever since Star Wars Battlefront was revealed back in April, they knew the beta would be a huge test for the game. The beta has been one of the most talked about topics around the game over the last six months, and EA were excited to see how it would be received.

And like Han Solo at the end of A New Hope, they were glad you showed up. Even more importantly than just showing up, players have been spending a lot of time playing, having a great time and leaving some invaluable feedback, as the game continues to be tuned and balance until launch on November 17, 2015 in North America, and November 19, 2015 in Europe.

A spokes person for EA said “On behalf of the team at DICE, and everyone at EA, thank you for playing. We hope you enjoyed what you played in the beta, which is just a small part of the overall experience. There’s a lot more to the game, including all of our multiplayer modes and mission types.”

Train2Game News Minecraft Story Mode

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Leading and award-winning developer and publisher of digital entertainment Telltale Games, and world-renowned game developer Mojang, today released the world premiere episode for  Minecraft: Story Mode – A Telltale Games Series.

Episode 1: ‘The Order of the Stone,’ the first of five episodes in the season, is available digitally worldwide today on PC and Mac from the Telltale Online Store, Steam, and other digital distribution services, on the PlayStation®Network for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3, and on the Xbox Games Store for Xbox One® and Xbox 360®. The season premiere will be available for compatible iOS devices via the App Store and for compatible Android-based devices via Google Play and the Amazon Appstore starting this Thursday, October 15th. The series will also be coming to Wii U and PlayStation Vita.

Minecraft: Story Mode – A Telltale Games Series  season pass disc will be available at retail in North America on Tuesday, October 27th, and in Europe onFriday, October 30th. Retail platforms at launch will include Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 in North America; and PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One and Xbox 360 in Europe. The retail edition of  Minecraft: Story Mode will ship with the premiere episode on the disc, and will grant access to the subsequent four episodes in the season as they become available to download via online updates.

In  Minecraft: Story Mode , playing as either a male or female hero named ‘Jesse,’ you’ll embark on a perilous adventure across the Overworld, through the Nether, to the End, and beyond. You and your friends revere the legendary Order of the Stone: Warrior, Redstone Engineer, Griefer, and Architect; slayers of the Ender Dragon. While at EnderCon in hopes of meeting Gabriel the Warrior, Jesse’s friends discover that something is wrong… something dreadful. Terror is unleashed, and you must set out on a quest to find The Order of the Stone if you are to save your world from oblivion.

The season will feature  Patton Oswalt as male Jesse,  Catherine Taber as female Jesse,  Brian Posehn, Ashley Johnson, Scott Porter, Martha Plimpton, Dave Fennoy, Corey Feldman, Billy West, John Hodgman, and  Paul Reubens. The launch trailer features behind the scenes interviews with the cast about the all-new series.

Minecraft: Story Mode – A Telltale Games Series – Episode 1: ‘The Order of the Stone’  is rated ‘E10+’ (Everyone 10+) for Fantasy Violence and Mild Language by the ESRB. Future content in the season is yet to be rated by the ESRB.

The series is published by Telltale Games in partnership with Mojang.

Train2Game News Battle Islands

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Battle Islands, the popular World War II Free-to-Play strategy game from 505 Games is taking the fight to Xbox One, bringing new and exclusive content to the platform.

Players who go to war on the Xbox One version will have access to the following EXCLUSIVE content:

Ranger Mode – Players can jump into the action and take direct control of their units. This mode offers the chance to take your very own veteran Ranger into battle to fight alongside other troops!

New Units – Attacking enemy bases and seizing resources gets easier with the following new units – Escort Fighter Plane, Motorbike & Sidecar and Heavy Gunboat.

Battle Islands is also rolling out a new feature called Divisions which pits players against similarly ranked opponents to compete for the weekly top spot and the chance to win Supply Bonuses.

The game is also available to download for free on PlayStation 4, app stores on Apple, Android and Amazon, Facebook and Yahoo! Games as well as on STEAM®/PC.

Train2Game News Chance to create next Warhammer

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Train2Game student seeking support to create table top strategy war game

Avid gamer Aaron Newton, 27, lives in The West Midlands, he’s currently embarked on a Train2Game course but also wants to create his own board game. He’s now reaching out to find people to assist with his project and is urgently on the lookout for artists. Aaron has big plans and has already created the game’s gameplay, strategy elements and factions.

The game is currently in the development stages; Aaron is confirming game play with his local war gaming group and deciding which elements to incorporate into the final game. He was working in a team of three but unfortunately his previous team have had to concentrate on other projects, his plan is to now recruit new team members to help make his idea a reality.

The game is inspired by Aaron’s love of military history and his time in the army. Two types of faction have been created, Empire of Gaia and The Maulini Dominion. The plan is to have three types of gameplay in one; Skirmish, Ground and Space, allowing players to approach the game with as complex or simple strategies as they wish.

Aaron now has extensive briefs in place but needs people to come in and make them happen. There’s a planned Kickstarter and the opportunity is open to anyone looking to gain experience and develop their portfolio to join him.

Aaron Newton, Train2Game student; ‘The game is currently in the early development stages, the first draft of the core rules and faction specifics are done and I am getting them looked at and checked by a local war-gaming club to see if they are easy to follow and will add more when I get the ok. I decided to do more of an invasion game so that players have if they desire the option of incorporating the ground and space battle concepts into a game.’

‘The game itself is technically a three in one having; ground, space and skirmish, rule sets. The overall design is that the rules cover everything lightly giving wiggle room so players can make simple or as complex strategies as they wish. The game with also have books and PDF releases to flesh out the lore and give players more of an idea to why certain peoples fight, how battles where won etc.’

‘The game is a table wargame that is will be marketed as an invasion game. The two main factions are the Empire of Gaia who are led by The Empress and the Legartums (Generals), the empire is heavily based on the Roman Empire so there is a regimented military, a religion with the empress as the figure head, slaves, and gladiators. The second faction is The Maulini Dominion who are the tattered remains of various other destroyed races, they are led by Lord Hyperion Maul who was previously the Commandium Milartus (Over all head of the Military Forces) for the Empire until a great betrayal happened.’
 
‘The game is designed to be played on the two fronts at the same time but can be played separately, when certain objectives are met devastating tactics can be used for example. If a player’s fleet can get there flagship into firing range they can launch orbital strikes against enemy ground forces. Orbital strikes are defendable by the opponents orbital defence grid however if the player’s ground forces also take control and destroy the defence grid the opponent can’t the defend orbital strikes.’ ‘For players that just want to have a quick game there will be the ‘strike team’ mode which is the skirmish portion of the game.’

‘As for back story The Empire of Gaia is led by an immortal Empress who have been ruling longer than recorded history, there are no records of anything before she came to power. Her power increases as more people worship her as a goddess and the lusts for more and more power. The Maulini Dominion is led by the former Commandium Milartus (Overall military Commander of the Empire) Hyperion Maul who after he is betrayed by The Empire leads his battleground ‘Taedio Ferciae Rapaces’ (the defiant Wolves) against The Empire and then the last races the live free join him under the banner of the dominion and crown him The Void King.’

‘The inspiration for the factions comes from my love of history and especially military history. The Empire of Gaia is modelled of the Roman Empire following its cultures and military characteristics as well as the doctrine of the worlds are there’s for the taking. The Maulini Dominion is more of a coalition of independent peoples rising up against the tyranny of The Empire.’

‘The gameplay and strategies I came up with quite easily it was finding a way that they would work together that was the issue but being an experienced wargamer I have found something I think works well, being ex-army and a lover of military history I used my knowledge of battles to work out different tactics and also being a fan of sci-fi means I found quite easy to incorporate the two together.’

‘Naturally I am a big fan of Warhammer and I suppose there are some similarities to the Horus heresy era game but in my opinion I take it into more detail regarding the reasoning what each faction wants, the units within the game aren’t super human space marines they are men and women who fight for what they believe in whether that be The Goddess Empress or The King of the Void Hyperion Maul.’

‘Initially I had a couple of guys helping me but they due to other commitments have had to leave the project so it is just me at present and I am doing my best to keep going with. In terms of artwork there isn’t any at present but I have the designs briefs of all the units and characters.’

‘The plan for the game is that it will be seen as a genuine alternative to Warhammer 40k with the design and release of more units, character, battlegroups and maybe factions. Mainly the hope is that in 25/30 years’ time the game is still be around as has made a dedicated fan base of its own.’

‘In the short term my opinion of success I hope that if I can get some people who are willing to be involved in effect donating their time to initially to beef up their portfolio as I am working while doing the planning myself there is no money to pay for outside help, so I am hoping members of the student body would like to get involved naturally when the website and games Kickstarter go live and concept and 3d model used the person involved will be credited for its design.

For more information contact the Train2Game blog or email Aaron directly on amnewton66@gmail.com

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